camerapediafandomcom-20200215-history
Baby Rosen, Rosen Four and Adler Four
}} The Baby Rosen and Rosen Four are Japanese folding cameras using 127 film, made from 1935 by the company Proud. The attribution to Proud is confirmed by an advertisement in December 1936, reproduced in , p.104. The Baby Rosen is a 3×4cm camera, copied from the Goldi, a German 3×4 camera made by the company Zeh. The Rosen Four is a derivative taking 4×4cm exposures. The Adler Four (or "Adler IIII" or "Adler IV") is a name variant of the Rosen Four, sold by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō. For Adler cameras, see also the Semi Adler and Adler III (4.5×6cm), Adler A (4.5×6cm), Adler B (4.5×6cm), Adler C (4.5×6cm), Adler Six (6×6cm) and Vest Adler (4×6.5cm). General description The Baby Rosen, Rosen Four and Adler Four are vertical folders. In addition to the folding bed, there is a square metal plate mounted on scissor struts and supporting the lens and shutter assembly. All the models have a folding optical finder and an advance knob at the left end of the top plate. The back is hinged to the left and retained by a sliding button on the right. The Baby Rosen The Baby Rosen (ベビーローゼン) is a direct copy of the Zeh Goldi. The film advance is manually controlled via two red windows in the back, and there is no exposure counter. The front leather is simply embossed ROSEN. The Baby Rosen appears in advertisements dated November 1935 to October 1936. , p.343. The November 1935 advertisement in mentions an imported Corygon f/4.5 lens and a Vario shutter, and says that the price range started at . Advertisement reproduced in Yazawa, p.17 of no.235. The September 1936 advertisement in lists the following lens and shutter combinations: Advertisement reproduced in , p.104. * Terionar f/4.5 lens, Argus shutter, T, B, 25–100 speeds ( ); The lens name is written テリナー (terinā) in the advertisement by mistake. Terionar lenses are reported in , item 1241, in , p.804, and have been observed in an online auction. * Corygon f/4.5 lens, Vario shutter ( ); * Corygon f/4.5 lens, S-Pronto shutter ( ); * Corygon f/4.5 lens, N-Compur shutter ( ). The Corygon lens was made by Friedrich, and the Terionar lens was made by Fuji Kōgaku, as indicated by the Fuji-kō Anastigmat Terionar engraving on the lens rim. Engraving observed on a Baby Rosen in an online auction. The Baby Rosen pictured in is the cheapest version. , item 1241. The Argus shutter is everset and the speeds are selected by a small wheel at the top. The release lever is directly attached to the shutter plate. The latter has a decorative pattern shaped as a labyrinth and the aperture scale is at the bottom. The Rosen Four The Rosen Four (ローゼン・フォアー) is a modified version taking 4×4cm pictures. It was advertised as the first Japanese camera taking 4×4cm pictures, Leaflet Nihon saisho no 4×4 kamera Rōzen Foā, c.1937; advertisement in December 1936 reproduced in , p.104. This information is repeated in , item 1242, and in , p.343. and the Rosen Four and Adler Four are certainly the only folding cameras that were made in that format. There is a small black casing under the advance knob, containing an exposure counter which is manually reset by a small button at the front. (Some device to control the film advance was necessary because the rollfilm paper backing was not marked for 4×4cm pictures.) It is said that there is no auto-stop mechanism and that the film advance is manually controlled by watching the frame numbers. "Senzen no rikō kamera – hoi", p.21 of no.14 (about the Adler IIII). The front leather covering has the same ROSEN embossing as the Baby Rosen. The name Rosen is repeated at the front of the leather ever-ready case. Example observed in an online auction. The Rosen Four appears as a new model in an advertisement in the December 1936 issue of . Advertisement reproduced in , p.104. The maker is mentioned as Proud-sha and the distributor as Ōsawa Shōkai. The following lens and shutter options are listed: * Rosen Anastigmat 50/4.5 lens, Rosen shutter, 5–150 speeds ( ); * Corygon f/4.5 lens, New Vario I shutter ( ); * Corygon f/4.5 lens, Prontor II shutter ( ); An example is pictured in , item 1242, and Lewis, p.51. * Corygon f/4.5 lens, Compur-N shutter ( ); * Corygon f/3.5 lens, Prontor II shutter ( ); * Corygon f/3.5 lens, Compur-N shutter ( ); * Corygon f/2.9 lens, Compur-N shutter ( ). The same versions are listed in the leaflet reproduced below, together with the ever-ready case for ¥5. Leaflet Nihon saisho no 4×4 kamera Rōzen Foā, c.1937. The document mentions "Rosen Camera Works" (ローゼン・カメラ・ウアークス) and has an R.C.W logo. This is certainly not the name of an actual company, as many similar names ending in Camera Works. In addition to the above versions, the Rosen Four has also been observed with a Rosen–Anastigmat 50/4.5 lens and an everset shutter giving 5–250, B, T speeds, engraved PKW at the top of the shutter plate, with a P'' or ''LP logo on the right. Example pictured in Omoide no supuringu-kamera-ten, p.25, and in this page of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology, and example observed in an online auction. The meaning of these markings is unknown. The Adler Four The Adler Four (アドラー・フォアー) is a rebadged variant of the Rosen Four, sold by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō (subsidiary of Riken). The main body is nearly identical to the Rosen Four, except that the casing for the exposure counter is nickel-plated instead of black, and that the front leather is embossed Adler IIII. The name "Adler" was clearly used to demonstrate Japan's alliance with Germany. During the war period, Riken often used such names (they also sold a Heil camera), or other "patriotic" names. The Adler Four was introduced in 1938, some months after the 4.5×6 Adler models. The camera is announced and advertised in the August 1938 issue of . Advertisement in August 1938, p.2, and column in the same magazine, p.37. The price is given as (case ¥6), and a ten-month payment plan is offered as an option. See also the catalogue Olympic Products, c.1938, p.30, which gives the same information. The Adler Four was also listed for ¥65, with a similar ten-month payment option, in an unspecified issue of Riken Konzern geppō (理研コンツエルン月報) dated 1938, quoted in Tanaka, p.16 of no.14. The two documents mention a Ukas Anastigmat f/4.5 lens and an Adler Four shutter giving 5–250, B, T speeds. Despite this, the camera pictured in the advertisement has a different shutter with T, B, 150–25 speeds, OLYMPIC FOUR at the top, MADE IN JAPAN and PAT. NO. 194303 in small characters at the bottom, and the AKK logo of Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō. (This shutter is similar to that found on the Olympic Four.) Two actual examples have been observed so far. One has a front-cell focusing Helios Anastigmat f/4.5 lens (certainly made by Tōkyō Shashin Kōgaku) and an everset Perfect shutter (5–250, B, T) by Neumann & Heilemann. Example observed in an online auction. The shutter plate has a Neumann & Heilemann nameplate screwed to the top, is marked PERFECT at the bottom and has an NH logo on the right. The aperture scale, from 4.5 to 18, is engraved on another crescent-shaped plate screwed to the bottom. (This lens and shutter equipment is similar to some Seica examples, but for the minimum speed.) This camera is reported to have the name "The Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Co Ltd" engraved somewhere. Description of the online auction. The other example has an everset shutter (5–250, B, T), marked ADLER FOUR at the top with a different logo on the right, probably reading AKK. Example pictured in "Senzen no rikō kamera – hoi", p.21 of no.14, and in Adler Four page of the Ricoh official website. This shutter is perhaps a rebadged Perfect but this is unconfirmed. Notes Bibliography Original documents * Anonymous company. Nihon saisho no 4×4 kamera Rōzen Foā / Kokusan kamera hyōjun-hin Semi Rōzen (日本最初の4×4カメラ ローゼンフォアー / 国産カメラ標準品 セミ・ローゼン, Rosen Four, first Japanese 4×4 camera / Semi Rosen, standard Japanese camera). Leaflet published c.1937 (date not indicated). Document reproduced in this Flickr set by Rebollo_fr. * Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō. Olympic Products. Catalogue published c.1938 (date not indicated). Document reproduced in this Flickr set by Rebollo_fr. (The catalogue briefly mentions the Adler Four on p.30, among cameras available with a ten-month payment plan.) * Lens item Jc12. * (新光グラフ) August 1938. ** Advertisement by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō on p.2. ** "Orinpikku kamera nyūsu" (オリンピックカメラニュース, Olympic camera news). P.37. Recent sources * Items 326–7. (The Adler Four is not listed in this book.) * P.51. * P.804. * Omoide no supuringu-kamera-ten (思い出のスプリングカメラ展, Exhibition of beloved self-erecting cameras). Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 1992. (Exhibition catalogue, no ISBN number.) P.25. * "Senzen no rikō kamera – hoi" (戦前のリコーカメラ・補遺, Prewar Ricoh cameras – appendix). Pp.21–2. * Items 1241–2. (The Adler Four is not listed in this book.) * Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Senzen no kamera 2: Supuringu kamera" (戦前のカメラ2・スプリングカメラ, Prewar cameras 2: folding cameras). Pp.16–9. * Yazawa Seiichirō (矢沢征一郎). "Renzu no hanashi (145) Rōzen to Korigon" (レンズの話145ローゼンとコリゴン, Lens story 145 Rosen and Corygon). In no.235 (January 1997). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.15–9. Links In Japanese: * Rosen Four in the Camera database of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology * Pages of the Ricoh official website: ** Adler Four in the camera list (copied in this page of the Kitamura Camera Museum) ** article about Riken wartime camera names Category: Japanese 3x4 viewfinder folding Category: Japanese 4x4 viewfinder folding Category: Ricoh Category: B Rosen, Baby Adler Four Category: 1935